The IDF cleared for publication the name of Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari, 21, a Maglan commando fighter who fell in combat in southern Lebanon — the fifth casualty from a single heavy incident involving a tank of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade). The earlier four were Lt.-Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, Staff Sgt. Naveh Havshush, Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, and Staff Sgt. Liav Kababia. Funerals for Havshush and Klein were held Sunday.
The IDF has now identified all five soldiers killed in a single heavy tank incident in southern Lebanon over the weekend, as additional details and casualty figures continue to emerge.
The fifth name cleared for publication Sunday morning was Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari, 21, a Maglan commando fighter who fell alongside four of his comrades in the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade). The incident, described as “the tank disaster,” involved the destruction of an armored vehicle near the Lebanese village of Nabatieh and represents one of the deadliest single losses for the IDF since the ground incursion into southern Lebanon began.
Earlier on Friday and Saturday, the IDF had named Lt.-Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, the battalion commander, and four crew members: Staff Sgts. Naveh Havshush (20, a tank commander from Geva Binyamin, who planned to become an officer), Yoav Klein (21, an armored soldier from Herzliya), Liav Kababia, and now Nir Ben Ari. Funerals for Havshush and Klein were held Sunday at 11:00 in Herzliya and 18:00 at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
The incident and its aftermath, including President Isaac Herzog’s public eulogy for the battalion commander, have been covered extensively by The Zioneer as the thread unfolded this weekend. As of Sunday morning, no further information about the exact circumstances of the strike has been released by the IDF.
4 developments
- StrongIDF names two soldiers killed in separate southern Lebanon operations Saturday
- StrongIDF names fourth soldier killed alongside 52nd Battalion commander in southern Lebanon
- StrongFour IDF soldiers killed in complex combat in southern Lebanon overnight
- DevelopingLebanese media: Multiple operatives killed in the same IDF strike in southern Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake